"Chloe," Clark called as he and Emmeline quickly sprinted down the stairs after their friend. "Hey, Chloe!" Chloe finally turned and noticed them. "We've been trying to break through the plane of Chloe for two halls now."
Chloe laughed lightly. "Yeah, I-I guess I've had a lot on my mind. Speaking of which, please tell me I can cross your Teacher of the Year interview off my to-do list."
"Um, well, I called and I left a message, but she didn't call me back."
Chloe sighed and looked over at Emmeline.
Emmeline put her hands up. "Hey, don't look at me. I was promised I wouldn't have to do interviews." She smiled coyly at Clark. "But I will happily proofread your interview when you finish it."
"Clark," Chloe sighed again as she put her hand to his shoulder. "Okay, Clark, I understand that Mrs. Taylor is like Fort Knox when it comes to her private life, but journalism isn't about sitting back and waiting for someone to hand you the truth. Sometimes you have to actually work for it." She looked over Clark's shoulder and saw none other than Mrs. Taylor walking in. "And sometimes, timing is everything. Okay, Clark. Now go. And remember, 'no comment' is not an option."
She lightly pushed Clark in Mrs. Taylor's direction, and the two girls watched to see if he handled the situation like a true journalist.
"Mrs. Taylor," Clark called. "I was wondering if we could set a time for your Torch interview. It'll be painless, I promise."
"Actually, Clark, I'm really busy this week," the teacher responded quickly.
"But Mrs. Taylor, ten minutes, tops," Chloe persisted. "How about before Lit class? Does that work for you?"
"No, I'm printing a pop quiz because I watched TV last night instead of prepping for class."
Chloe and Emmeline furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. Mrs. Taylor blinked her eyes a few times before heading into her classroom.
Chloe turned to look at the others with a confused smile. "Did she really just say that?"
The three of them headed over to the Torch office and walked in on Pete packing up his things. Emmeline came in and gave him a quick peck on the lips before putting her stuff down.
"Hey, Pete, are we still on for tonight?" Clark asked.
"Oh, yeah," Pete smiled. "I got to drop some stuff off for my mom, but I should definitely be home in time for tip-off."
"Another lovely evening huddled around the electronic hearth," Chloe said sarcastically.
"Yeah, and since Pete's supplying the big screen, I got dinner," Clark told her.
Chloe laughed in disbelief. "What? Clark Kent in the kitchen?" She turned to Pete with mock dread. "What's on the menu?"
Pete smiled. "Clark's gonna run to Metropolis to get some Shark Dogs from the stadium."
"What? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. You mean to tell me that Clark is driving six hours to pick up a couple of hot dogs?"
"Well, when Clark goes supersonic, he can make the roundtrip in ten minutes."
Chloe and Emmeline laughed a little and looked at Clark.
"He's kidding," Clark said with little humor in his voice.
"You're crazy," Emmeline chuckled.
Clark quickly walked over to Pete and began ushering him out of the office. "Come on, Pete, let's get to class."
"See you later!"
When the two boys left the office, Chloe looked over at her. "That was kind of weird."
"Oh, you know Pete. He's always cracking jokes."
"Mm-hmm…"
That night, Chloe, Emmeline, and Clark were sitting at Clark's dining room table going over the latest Torch issue.
"Okay, well, so far we have student accolades, testimonials, everything except for Mrs. Taylor herself," Chloe stated.
"And you have got to give me time to proofread everything," Emmeline added.
"Well, guys, if she doesn't want to talk, maybe we should just let it go," Clark told them.
Their heads turned at the sound of the door opening. Martha walked in with a couple bags of groceries. "Hi!" She smiled when she noticed the two girls at the table. "Oh, hi, Chloe, Emmeline."
"Hey, Mrs. Kent," Chloe smiled.
Clark stood up from the table. "Are there more in the truck?"
"Yes, sweetheart. Thank you."
Clark headed outside to grab the rest of the groceries. The two girls walked over to Martha as she took off her coat and scarf.
"I never got a chance to thank you for the flowers you sent after Jonathan's surgery," she said to Chloe.
"Oh, of course. How's he feeling?"
"It's been really difficult. He's depressed and angry. I worry that when he comes out of this, he won't be the same man I married."
Chloe was silent for a moment, stunned at the extremely honest confession. "I'm sorry."
"I was just telling Clark the other day how my mom and dad went through the same thing," Emmeline explained. "It's perfectly natural that both of you feel this way."
"How's Clark handling all this?"
"Of course, he feels responsible for Jonathan's condition," Martha told them.
"How could he possibly be responsible for Mr. Kent's heart attack?"
"It's not. It's his biological father. He's the one who drove Clark to Metropolis last summer!"
"Mom!" Clark said quickly with the groceries in hand. "Where do you want these?"
Chloe furrowed her eyebrows again and walked over to him. "Clark, you found your biological father, and you didn't tell us about it?"
"…She meant figuratively. Um, you know, coming to grips with the fact that my real parents didn't want me, um, played a part in what happened last summer."
"I actually can understand that," Emmeline said. And it was true, she did understand, but him running off to Metropolis and becoming a die-hard party boy seemed a little extreme when dealing with the mentality of his real parents giving him up. She had been through the same thing, but she hadn't gone crazy because of it.
Clark gave Chloe all of her books and papers from the table. "Let's pick this up tomorrow."
"Okay," Chloe said quietly. "Bye."
The two girls left the house, both wondering why this had been such a weird day…
Chloe and Emmeline ran outside to catch the Teacher of the Year as she walked into the building.
"Mrs. Taylor?" Chloe called. "Hi, Mrs. Taylor. I'm sorry to be pulling the '60 Minutes' card, but I'm crashing a deadline here. Can we just pop this off really quick?"
Mrs. Taylor smiled. "Yeah, only because I know you'll never let me off the hook."
Chloe pulled out her notepad and looked at Mrs. Taylor's son, William. "It must be pretty cool having the best teacher in school as a mom."
"Uh, yeah, I'm kind of used to her being the best at everything she does," William smiled.
"Okay, we'll just start with the obvious. Um, what do you like about teaching?"
"I enjoy the students," Mrs. Taylor answered.
"Okay. Any downsides?"
"Always having to hide the truth."
At those words, all three students' heads looked at her strangely, taken aback at the bluntness of the answer.
"I'm sorry. The truth about what?"
"That Mrs. Taylor doesn't exist. My real name is Mary-Anne Lewis, and I've been running from my past since 1972."
"I-I don't understand. What did you do?"
Tears started to form in the teacher's eyes. "I was part of a radical group. We planted explosives outside a bank in Seattle. We were just trying to make a statement. But one of the guards came in early, and when the bomb went off…
"Mrs. Taylor, are you saying you're wanted for murder?"
"I…I just drove the car," she cried. "I swear, I-I never meant for anyone to die."
"Mom, what are you saying?" William asked shakily.
"I should've told you this years ago. I'm so sorry."
Chloe finished writing down everything on her notepad. "Okay, Mrs. Taylor—"
"No!" William snapped. "Get away from her, okay? Just leave us alone!"
William quickly ushered his crying mother inside the building. Chloe looked down at her notes and smiled, something that did not go unnoticed by Emmeline.
"Chloe, you cannot print any of that in the newspaper," she said to her friend.
"Why not? This is one of the best stories I've gotten all year!"
"This is not something to put in the Torch. Maybe…we should go to the police or something."
"Uh-uh. This can make my career."
"Fine. Write it. But I'm not proofing that article."
Chloe just smirked as she watched her best friend storm into the school.
She just got the story of the decade.
Chloe walked into school with a proud smile on her face, uncaring of the multitude of glares she received from everyone she passed.
"Congratulations, Chloe," Clark said as he held up the latest edition of the Torch. "Within 24 hours, you've managed to tick off the entire school."
"Well, you don't earn your press pass by making friends," Chloe told him.
"Yeah, well, people aren't really treating me well either," Emmeline added. "Considering that they think since I'm the proofreader, I was the one who approved of this."
"Don't you think the police should be handling this?" Clark asked.
"Clark, I uncovered a murder," Chloe said proudly.
"With your new ability. You broke into the LuthorCorp plant the other night, didn't you?" Emmeline glanced over at Chloe, wondering if that was the truth. "Something happened?"
"Wow. There may be some journalistic genes behind those baby blues after all."
"Chloe, for some reason, people are telling you things they don't want you to know, and it's not a joke."
"No. But it is every reporter's dream."
"Chloe, if you keep this up, you're going to end up finding out something that you really wish you didn't find out," Emmeline said.
Chloe just smirked and walked over to a fellow student. "Rebecca. When the entire geometry class got C's on the final, how is it possible that you aced it?"
"Oh, I swiped the answer key the day before the test," Rebecca stated without hesitation. A look of panic crossed her face when she realized what she had just said. "You're not gonna tell anybody, are you?"
Chloe giggled as Rebecca hurried off in embarrassment. She looked over to find a cheerleader walking with a group of football players. "Mindy! Hey, Mindy. You're always so upbeat. Does anything bother you?"
"Are you kidding? Do you have any idea how hard it is to cheer for a losing team?" Mindy answered.
"Mindy, what are you talking about?" one of the football players asked in surprise.
Mindy quickly hurried away similar to Rebecca. Clark and Emmeline shared an uncomfortable look. This was getting out of hand and fast.
Chloe smiled at the football player. "Doug, if you could take anyone to the prom, who would you take?"
Doug looked at another one of the players. "That'd be Fitz."
"Thomas Fitzpatrick, the quarterback? Wow! I didn't expect that one."
Doug advanced threateningly towards Chloe, but Clark quickly intervened. "Hey, it's cool. It's off the record."
"Clark, this is amazing!" Chloe exclaimed as the three of them walked away from the players. "Can you imagine the kinds of stories I could break? I mean, I could crack the mystery that is Clark Kent!" She looked at him straight in the eyes with a smile. "What do you keep hiding from me?"
"I can't believe you just asked me that."
"And you didn't answer. Everyone else would have. What are you so afraid of? That I'll get behind that armor and finally uncover your secret?"
"Everyone has secrets, Chloe," Emmeline said seriously. "Everyone. And sometimes those secrets need to stay buried."
"Whatever. I'm going to the Torch. I'll see you guys later."
That afternoon, Chloe and Emmeline headed to the Talon. Luckily for Emmeline, she hadn't revealed anything to Chloe that she didn't want her to know. It helped that she was pretty much already an open book with her.
Everyone glared at the two girls as they walked inside and a couple people purposefully bumped into them.
"How could you print this?" William said to Chloe as he tossed her a newspaper. "Thanks to you, my mom had to go into hiding! The police are looking for her!"
"I'm sorry, William, but I just printed the truth," Chloe answered without much remorse. "I mean, I can't be held responsible for that."
William took a step closer to her, and while Chloe didn't back down, Emmeline took a couple steps back. "You ruined my life."
William left the Talon and everyone else inside followed suit.
Lana came up to the two of them with a tray in her hand.
"Is it just me, or did I completely clear out the lunch crowd?" Chloe asked.
"No, it was you," Lana answered bluntly. "Ever since you've turned the Torch into your own personal gossip column, no one can stand being around you."
"I never approved of that article," Emmeline put in. "But no one knows that."
"Yeah, well, at least you're still talking to us, right?" Chloe smiled.
Lana turned away from them. "For now."
"Okay. What's that about?"
She turned back to face them. "I applied to the Paris School of the Arts. They have a full-time high school program and if I get accepted, I start in the summer."
"Wow. I guess I'm not in the loop. When did you decide this?"
"I've been thinking about it for a while now. Everyone has their families, you know, and, um, I'm not sure where I fit in."
"But I always thought that we were your family."
"Come on, Chloe. I know what you and everyone else thinks of me. That I'm driven and self-involved. I just can't wait to get out of here and go somewhere where people don't judge me."
"I never said anything like that."
"You never had to."
"Why haven't you ever talked to me about this?"
"Because I couldn't trust you."
Chloe looked at Lana for a moment, truly hurt, before turning and leaving the Talon.
Lana looked at Emmeline with a confused and bewildered expression. "I never meant to say any of that."
"Yeah, I know, it's not you," Emmeline explained. "Something happened to Chloe, and now the people she talks to have no choice but to tell her the truth."
"That's how she found out about Mrs. Taylor."
"Exactly. I warned her that she might find out things she doesn't want to, but as a reporter, all she can think about it getting the truth for her stories."
"Is this permanent?"
"I seriously hope not. I think Clark is trying to track down what made this happen and figure out something to fix it. Until then…I'm just really hoping I don't end up revealing something I don't want to."
"Yeah…"
Pete and Emmeline arrived at the hospital to find Clark pacing around the waiting room.
"Pete, Em, what are you guys doing here?" Clark asked when he noticed them.
"Chloe said you had some big story," Pete told him.
Clark began to lead them towards the elevator. "Um, I just told her that. The way she's been acting, I thought it was the only way I could get her to the hospital."
"Is she okay?"
"She got doused with something at LuthorCorp, and I think it's making her sick. Some sort of truth gas."
"Which would explain the vice grip on my arm." Clark quickly let him go when he realized how tightly he was holding onto him. "I can take a hint, Clark. You want us to get out of here before the human lie detector shows up."
"Make sure she's okay, Clark," Emmeline said to him. "You're the only one who seems to be immune to her little power."
"I will," Clark answered.
The elevator opened, and Pete and Emmeline quickly got in before Chloe showed up. Unfortunately, Chloe was already in the elevator.
"Hey, guys," she smiled.
"Chloe," Pete panicked. He took Emmeline's arm and tried to get out of the elevator with her, but Chloe stopped them.
"No, wait. Now, enough is enough. Everyone seems to be on the Run-Away-From- Chloe bandwagon today. Why you two?"
"I'm trying to stay away from you so I don't tell you the truth."
Just before the elevator door closed, Clark quickly opened it back up and stood between Chloe and the others. "Chloe? Remember that story that I called you about?"
"Yeah, we can talk about the story later, Clark," Chloe said as she pushed him out of the way. "Right now, I want to know why you guys are playing such a zone defense on me. Em, you're my best friend. Do you seriously have anything to hide from me?"
"Sometimes I feel that you put your stories above our friendship," Emmeline blurted. "And that if Hannah wins the custody battle and I have to move, you're just going to use that as an opportunity to write a new story."
Chloe looked genuinely hurt. "Em, I-I would never do that to you. Why didn't you tell me this?"
"Because I knew you'd try to deny it. And I wouldn't believe you."
"But…you tell me everything. Even if it's about your dating life and I get jealous."
"You shouldn't get jealous."
"Why? I thought you had a great relationship."
"I worry that it's too much work to be in relationship with me because of everything that's going on with Mom and Hannah and the fact that I don't like talking to people or going out. And that Pete thinks I'm too much trouble but he's too nice to say anything."
Chloe looked over at Pete who had a hurt expression on his face. "What is the big secret, Pete?"
Pete looked at Clark in a panic for a moment before leaning in and kissing Chloe full on the lips. Emmeline's mouth dropped open, and she felt tears quickly fill her eyes.
"I've been waiting to do that ever since the first day I met you," Pete confessed.
Chloe's eyes widened. "Okay, whoa, Pete. You're dating Em. Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"Because I knew the way you felt about Clark, and I never saw the point."
Emmeline's tear-filled eyes met Clark's as the elevator door opened. Pete quickly ran out, mortified at his actions.
"Pete, wait," Chloe called.
"Chloe, listen. If Clark's right and there something wrong with you, then take care of it. Please."
Pete quickly left the hospital before he could say anything more. Emmeline looked at her two friends before running off in the opposite direction, completely heartbroken.
Clark was in the Torch researching on Chloe's computer when Pete quickly walked in.
"Clark, I've been looking for you. They arrested Mrs. Taylor."
"I know," Clark answered. "It's been all over the Internet."
"As long as you're online, you want to ask Jeeves how long it takes to die of embarrassment? And then ask how long it takes for your girlfriend to talk to you again after you kissed another girl?"
Clark awkwardly got up from the computer. "Pete, how come you didn't tell me how you felt about Chloe?"
Pete looked up at him. "It's not like I ever had a chance with her."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because I'm always standing next to you. Oh, come on, Clark. As far as long shadows go, you're the dark side of the moon."
"Maybe so, but Em chose you, didn't she?"
"Yeah, and I love her, but I don't know if she's ever going to talk to me again after what she saw in the elevator."
"If she loves you like I think she does, she will. You need to prove to her that she's the only girl you truly care about."
"Yeah…" Pete looked over at Chloe's computer to see what Clark was researching. "Why are you looking through Chloe's files?"
"I'm worried about her." Pete took a seat at the computer. "She's working on a story about a LuthorCorp project called Levitas. This retired military doctor General Jonah Doyle claims he was part of the first test five years ago."
"Sounds like a crackpot."
"It's our only lead."
"Hey, Em."
Emmeline looked up from her work in the Torch office to find Chloe walking through the doorway.
"I, uh…don't know how I can apologize enough."
Emmeline looked away and didn't answer.
"I'm totally truth-serum'd out, so you're safe on that end."
"How?"
"Um…I was on my way to Clark's house to ask his parents everything he wouldn't tell me. But the serum made me sick and I couldn't drive straight. William came after me and nearly ran me off Coughlin Bridge since he was angry at me for everything that happened with his mom."
At that, Emmeline stood up from her chair and went over to her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, but the serum made me pass out and would've killed me…if Clark hadn't shown up and inserted some kind of drug into my heart."
"What drug?"
"I don't know. I don't even know where he got such a thing, but…it saved me. So…now that you know what happened, it's time for the apologies. I'm so sorry about…everything. I wasn't even thinking about how my article would impact you. And then there was everything that happened in the elevator…"
"That's on Pete. He should've told me about this a long time ago."
"Yeah, well, he chose you in the end, didn't he?"
"I guess."
"Pete does love you, Em. I promise. Please don't let my stupid actions get in the way of the amazing relationship you have with him."
Emmeline didn't answer.
"And also, there are times when I probably do put my stories above our friendship without realizing it. So if I ever do that, please tell me. I want to know about these things because the amount of times you've been there for me, it's extremely unfair for me to do that to you."
Emmeline smiled a little. "Thanks. But I should've been honest with you about that."
"And I promise I won't turn the custody case into a story, no matter how it turns out. I'd be so upset you were leaving town, I wouldn't be able to write it anyway."
"I think I always knew that. But…a part of me still believed you would. And I think that was a little unfair of me."
"Well…not exactly. But if it meant hurting you, I would never do it. I swear. And no matter how this case turns out, we'll always be best friends."
Emmeline smiled wider. "Best friends for life."
The two girls shared a tight hug, the tension between them gone.
Chloe sat down at her computer and pressed a button on her desk phone.
"Thank you for using CansCom," an automated voice said. "Please enter your security code now." She pressed more buttons on the phone. "You have one new message." She pressed 1, and a sickening voice filled the room.
"Hello, Miss Sullivan." Emmeline's head snapped over to look at the phone as Lionel Luthor's voice came across. "It's only me. Um, oh, no need to look for that conversation we had earlier. It's gone. And, um, well, that's it. No need to call back."
"You have no more messages."
"What is he talking about?" Emmeline asked.
Chloe sighed heavily, fear etched across her face. "These past few months, I've been working with Lex to try to put Lionel Luthor behind bars."
"Wait, what? Why haven't I heard about this?"
"Because I was trying to keep it on the DL. You know the reason why Lex was in the mental institution?"
Emmeline shook her head.
"Because Lex found out what Lionel had done, and Lionel put him in there to erase his memories so he could stay out of jail."
"I thought he had a psychotic break."
"A psychotic break Lionel caused. While I had the truth serum in me, I got Lionel's confession on voicemail. He ordered a crime boss to kill his parents for their life insurance."
"He did what?"
"Yeah. But apparently…he managed to delete the recording."
Emmeline smirked a little. "I know you. You're not going to let him get away that easy."
The doorbell rang at Emmeline's house, and she went to go answer it. There was Pete. After barely two seconds, Emmeline stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face.
"Okay, I think I deserved that," Pete muttered.
Emmeline glared at him fiercely.
"Look, Em…what happened in the elevator…it's true, I did have feelings for Chloe. But I didn't even realize they were still inside me until I had no choice but to confess the truth. I love you, and only you."
"Are you just dating me because you couldn't have Chloe? Am I just your second choice?"
"No! I'm dating you because you are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on, and I've thought so since the day I met you. My feelings for Chloe go back further, but the more I spent time with you, the more those feelings began to disappear. I have felt things for you that I never felt for Chloe. Because I never loved Chloe the way I do you."
Emmeline crossed her arms over her chest. "I suppose…I should've told you how I felt about our relationship."
"Em, just because your mom had cancer and you're going through this whole custody battle doesn't mean I love you any less or think you're too much trouble. If anything, it makes me want to spend more time with you so I can cheer you up and see your beautiful smile again. You're the only girl for me, Em. I love you."
Emmeline smiled a little before taking Pete's head in her hands and giving him a passionate kiss.
The two of them stood there kissing on her front porch, and though Emmeline had been through her fair share of heartbreak throughout her relationship with Pete, moments like this made it all worth it.
